Tamil Nadu girl battles poverty to reach for the stars, wins trip to NASA
The Class 11 student, who draws inspiration from nuclear scientist and former Indian President APJ Abdul Kalam, studies at a Tamil medium government high school and learnt English by taking coaching classes for a month.
December 17, 2019 / 05:01 PM IST
Visiting the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in the United States and interacting with the astronauts there is the kind of dreams that the likes of K Jayalakshmi do not dare to dream.
The Class 11 government school student, who is in her late teens, takes care of her mentally challenged mother and younger brother. She does not have a father and is the sole breadwinner of her family.
Her days are busy. Jayalakshmi shuffles education and work at this tender age, selling cashew nuts and giving tuition to Class 8 and 9 students to make ends meet.
The science student, who draws inspiration from nuclear scientist and former Indian President APJ Abdul Kalam, studies at a Tamil medium government high school and learnt English by taking coaching classes for a month.
According to a New Indian Express report, Jayalakshmi came to know about the competition conducted by fluke, while she was practising for a carrom match.
Speaking about how she learnt about the opportunity, the Tamil Nadu girl said as per the report: “When I was practising for a carrom match, I saw a newspaper lying beside the board. It had a story about Dhaanya Thasnem, who won a chance to go to NASA last year. It piqued my interest and I rushed home to register myself for the exam.”
She will be going for her NASA tour in May 2020 and has sought aid from the Collector to bear her travel expenses to the US.
Jayalakshmi said, as per the report, that her father lives separately and sends money once a while. Her teachers and students pitched in to help her get a passport and even the passport officers also offered her Rs 500.
When she grows up, she wants her life to serve as a reminder to all government school students that it is okay to aspire and that dreams do come true, when coupled with effort and determination.
